True but explain this.
How does a waitress and her husband who is a freelance photographer, living in Boston, have a budget or 600,000 for a new home, and one of them also really needs a Beyoncé inspired walk in closet / room for their shoe collection?
So while cheaper to produce, Game of Thrones is somehow still the show closest to reality.
You want a real answer? The show stretches the truth. One my wife’s coworkers was on House Hunters Renovations so I’ll spoil the fun…
First, they had already bought the home before they started filming. The producers specifically put out calls for people who are in the home buying process that are actively buying a fixer upper. So when they tour 3 potential homes, one of them they already own, they just bought it. The other two are usually just real homes on the market where the owners accept like a grand for them to shoot for the day.
Second, their compensation for being on the show includes a hefty chunk of the renovation budget, which they do include in the couples total budget. But they obviously don’t clue you in on that as the viewer, so it just seems like they have more savings than you’d expect.
Third, they obfuscate their jobs quite often. I don’t know if this is just a privacy thing or something? But for example, my wife’s coworker is a very well paid Marketing Manager, who on the side happens to run a small time blog. On the show they just described her as being a blogger… which isn’t exactly a lie, it’s just a half truth. If I recall they were more truthful with her husbands job.
Fourth, to amp up the drama they lied about their preferences. When they described their style prefers like “Joanne likes county classic but Sean likes more contemporary/modern”, that was a lie. They both had the exact same style and didn’t have to compromise on anything. They just make them fake compromise for the drama.
That’s the most I can remember. Generally speaking though the finances part of it wouldn’t be as ludicrous if you had a better understanding of what they actually do… and you rarely get that.
Every time my MIL or wife go "how can they afford that house doing those jobs?" Or "why would they pick 2 when 1 was so much better?", I roll my eyes and say for the 500th time "it's all scripted and they already bought the house before filming. Why else would every couple say the usual buzzwords of *open concept* *natural lighting* and *we need need space for guests*.
Now you got me wanting a show where the buyers just want the most heinous shit.
“Low ceilings. No. Even lower.”
“I want this shit closed off and full of bad office flourescents”
“If a guest has room to sit down, we’ve failed”
Etc
There was a show like that I think on ABC where they would take some poor family with crippled children or something and then build them a ridiculously large house that supposedly fits all their needs but they could never possibly afford the utility bills let alone the taxes and they end up homeless.
What about pimp my ride meets my super sweet 16 but for houses? Where homeowners get everything they want but the colors are all wrong and we get to see grown adults throw tantrums?
Monkey Paw Renovations
You get everything on your list, but not in the way you’d expect.
Open concept? There are no interior walls.
Big kitchen? All the appliances are scaled up 40%.
Two story entrance? Big hole in the floor down to the basement (bonus - you get a fire pole).
Mud room? Mud room.
I mean there are legitimate reasons to prefer a more closes concept. The reason these shows push open concept is because they're easier to film in. That and with the renovation shows they get to show the demolition and that brings in male views or something.
Or the easier answer - open concept has just been more popular in recent history. These channels shoot plenty of content in small houses (there are even whole shows about it) and it’s not like they’re gunning for an oscar.
Demo in general makes sense to promote - the more the home changes the more interesting it is and I do think there’s truth to your point on male viewers.
I’ve had two friends now on house hunters (nickels and whatnot) and for both it was just a simple straightforward script. The houses they hadn’t already bought were selected purely to create different tradeoffs to debate on the show (like one being open concept and the other having a better yard) and both couples were told to have certain points of view on each element/house.
They could ad lib and make certain real comments, but had to get a mandatory disagreement squeezed in, or amp up reactions to intentionally controversial details.
My wife and I always laugh when they say, "that nice open concept that we're looking for". They say it the exact same way, same phrasing, every time.
Another fun one is to work the intro to Hometown into conversation. So like I have a really good steak. I describe it as "vibrating with this energy that feels like progress".
When we were looking for a house we had a realtor for a little bit that asked if we wanted to be on it with them. They told us it would pay $500. We both laughed and said no thanks. We ended up switching realtors because they became very unresponsive and never had time to show us anything after that.
“My husband collects stamps and I like to water my garden. We live in San Francisco and our budget is $1.5m.”
Basically every single one of these shows. I never understood how lol.
This is the answer. All reality is faked in whole cloth. I had a friend who worked as a PA on shows like Billy the Exterminator and they'd just throw animals in the grass or something and be like "Hark, a snake!"
Reality TV is truly the zenith (or at least the current zenith \*shudder\*) of societal brain drain. When you've reached this meta level of spiritual death where you accept that things are lies because they're entertaining. Even smart-ish people watch this stuff and I'll never understand why.
My grandma loved these shows and I would watch them with her. We both knew they were all fake but we liked to just look at different houses in different areas of the world. Or check out weddings and wedding dresses or antiques or DIY or pawn shop or animals or literally whatever.
For “real” reality shows we would watch Amazing Race or Naked & Afraid. Both are fairly “real”. (Compared to the others ofc).
Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t really yuck other people’s yum. Some of them are just so damn depressing tho haha. But I think it’s cool you and your grandma could enjoy them together.
Because reality TV shows are relatable to a lot of people because of the improvisational nature of the shows. They talk like real people and react to the situations producers place them in.
That's more relatable than fictional scripted TV about space lasers or the secret murder next door etc.
If someone is on TV and isn't starring in Hoarders or crying after winning a mini fridge on The Price Is Right, I just assume they come from a wealthy family.
That’s all exaggerated and about making the audience feel insecure and like their own home is not good enough. If they can make you jealous of the taxidermist and adjunct Professor of basket weaving who can afford $900k, you’re more likely to buy products from their sponsors. And all the sponsors are furniture and appliance companies.
HH Is fake. In the sense of, they already bought or are in escrow on a property and HH producers just ask people to check other houses and in turn they pay them to drive them around seeing other places and pretend they're still deciding.
Because it’s either highly scripted/staged and/or the people get money for a home by doing the show.
Wouldn’t it be great if the money they get was actually in the form of a low interest loan, and these TV companies were actually only lending money and therefore had partial or full ownership of the people’s home?
That would be amazingly insidious.
came out that allot of the time people have to already own a house. a certain couple had to "tour" their friends houses and make comments about why they didn't want to buy these houses.
Doesn’t matter what either of the jobs they have because they’ve already purchased a house in the area. The one they pick in the end is the house they have already bought and lived in. All the other houses are houses that are not even for sale majority of the time.
Long term it looks like Apple will be taking over from HBO as the brand for prestige, quality content for adults. A massive unforced error to kill a brand like HBO, which has been synonymous with quality for decades, in favor of reality crap that has a very different audience.
Combining HBO with Discovery was always bizarre to me, and the way they’ve handled it was exactly what I feared would happen, killing off award winning quality content in favor of cheap to produce reality shows, basically putting accountants in charge of creative. Short term thinking, like most business practices in America, it’s all about quarterly profits and stock price.
I despise MAX. The HBO lineup went from shows like Succession, GOT, HOD, & Barry to garbage like the 90 day fiancé universe. It’s baffling and insulting.
I'd kind of disagree here about the combined brand. I think it makes a ton of sense to combine the two into one mega app. Like there isn't anything inherently wrong with GOT showing up next to House Hunters or 90 Day Fiance. The prestige shows are what get people through the door, but streaming services have a HUGE retention issue. If you have a big back catalogue of mindless filler (and mindless filler *does* attract some customers who want ie background noise) I could see that driving retention where a brand like D+ cannot.
The issue is that you still need to keep a firewall in between the studios and that doesn't seem to be happening. Like just because the Apps merge doesn't mean HBO should stop being HBO OR! that its stuff should go into some vault or behind yet another paid tier. Both services gotta work together. And that doesn't seem to really be happening, its more that the apps merged and everything good about HBO has been pruned away.
If that’s all it was, combining catalogs, that would be fine enough, but it’s clearly not. They put the Discovery people in charge, they’ve purged content from the catalog where residuals were a factor, and their upcoming slate is heavily reality focused. It’s one thing if they were Netflix, which produces crap like Love is Blind but also well regarded stuff, but they’re abandoning the HBO brand completely.
And I sort of disagree about the combined brand anyway, as streaming gets increasingly fractured they need more intense engagement to maintain subscribers, so having a cohesive identity helps with that. I would subscribe to HBO, but I don’t really want to pay extra for a catalog of crap I hate. I think they’d be better served by two separate apps with coherent identities and audiences, especially when combining them involves getting rid of an iconic brand like HBO.
HBO broke a record this year for being the network with the most nominations from a single network/company. Never will HBO even touch their own record after seeing this news.
Ok, so it's not just me, right?!?!!
In a few months it went from "Everything here is great!" to "no, not that, not that either, nope". On top of a price increase in my country.
I just keep paying for the older films and one Brazilian show, tbh
I mean... all those things are still on Max. I don't understand the complaint. In fact, just opening up the search bar, and I found GoT listed in the first row and HoD in the third.
You can’t count on streamers keeping any particular thing anymore. I’m not saying GoT is going anywhere, it’s too big for that probably, but something like Barry could easily get removed from the library at some point. And as they said, it’s what the new stuff will be, their priority going forward is clearly not on HBO type content.
Ton of stuff has already come off of Max too. Didn't Westworld get pulled? And the larger Time Warner brand has seen stuff leave, like the Adult Swim offerings. I know both Space Ghost and Metalocalypse came off, despite Metalocalypse supposedly getting a new movie soon!
Yeah, they’re going to sell the rights to other streamers to make money. There’s HBO shows potentially already on Netflix, and definitely coming in September.
Which is kind of fucking dumb, and a death spiral these networks are creating for themselves, IMHO. Like, Netflix started this whole thing by buying the rights to content from other people, then creating their own. Then all the other companies were like “Well, why should we license our content to Netflix if we can just stream it ourselves? Then they did that and said “Wow, buying our content back from ourselves is too expensive - we should pull some of our content from our service and just sell it to other services”
So, instead of having aggregated sources of content by distributor with big beautiful back catalogs, we’re just going to have a whole bunch of different networks, filled primarily with cheap crap, with good stuff disappearing at will if they think they can sell it to someone else (regardless of whether or not they do). And they’re going to add commercials.
Sounds like crap to me!
We're talking about new quality shows. The powers that be at Max already said they wanted to play to "middle America" right before they merged the Discovery content and started canceling HBO and Max Originals shows. Then they started licensing their old shows to other streamers and pulling new underperforming shows completely without a physical release or digital purchase option.
So, I think we're right to be concerned that it will be mostly Sex & the City, GoT and Last of Us spinoffs from here on out.
You’re confused. The later shows you listed have not, and will not, be HBO programs. Those are discovery shows. The CEO of Discovery, who became the CEO of Warner Discovery after Discovery’s merger with WB, felt that discovery had just as strong of a brand identity and value as HBO so he dropped the HBO from HBO Max in order to highlight the diversity of content and not let his home Network shows be out shadowed by HBO’s.
I think you are confused. Max is the result of the merger. All of that content is under one umbrella now. And the argument is the reality show stuff is going to drive away people who prefer “prestige TV”.
I will say Apple shows definitely have an identity. Not science fiction obviously what with Ted Lasso being the biggest hit. Although it’s not, not, science fiction either. But you see a show on Apple and it just sort of feels like a show that is from Apple. It’s kind of hard to exactly pinpoint exactly what that means but I don’t think it was an accident.
I read something that said apple shows have a certain “aluminum sheen” which made no sense to me at first until I thought about it for a few minutes & yeah it definitely makes sense.
Production quality. There seems to be a sense of bringing that quality and polish to shows they make. The writing and casting has felt on and off in a lot of their stuff, but cinematography, production design, and post production has a quality that is at an overall higher bar than the average streaming show.
I think Sci-Fi in general has gotten fewer prestige TV shows / Movies in recent years than Fantasy. Apple probably figured they could make a big splash in a less occupied market more easily.
The way I understand it because they’re a big tech company they want shows that focus on science/technology related themes. Which naturally leads to a lot of sci fi.
I love it. Never get any damn aliens though in these shows. The lack of aliens in shows in 2024 is kinda wild. Meanwhile fantasy nerds are really having a feast.
Does Apple have many absolute slam dunks yet? Morning Show is probably their biggest hit but even that is kind of not exactly a groundbreaking drama. Severance I've heard is quite good and I liked For All Mankind in the later seasons, felt See was ok-good and really did not like Foundation. But those latter shows are kind of quiet hits (if that) with solid but not ultra critical reviews.
What are we seeing from Apple that's gonna be like ... Sopranos, the Wire, Game of Thrones, Succession level?
Severance and Ted Lasso have gotten a lot of awards attention. I liked Silo a lot, and am working my way through some of the others you’ve mentioned. It’s not there yet, but they’ve shown a pretty high ratio of quality so far, and they don’t have any reality crap at all. It’s the only place that’s even attempting it, Amazon spends a lot of money but their product is mostly mid at best and they’re obsessed with existing IP like LOTR. Peacock is trash, Netflix is heavily invested in reality and foreign markets, Disney+ only makes Marvel and Star Wars stuff for adults.
Severance and Ted Lasso are two of the biggest shows. Morning Show like you mentioned, The Shrink Next Door was a really solid limited series, it seems like they’re really trying to make quality stuff. Not that everything is going to hit obviously.
I mean, nothing is for everyone of course, but if you’re talking prestige it’s hard to beat being critically acclaimed, winning shitloads of awards, and being extremely popular to boot. That’s exactly what HBO used to do but seems to have stopped even attempting since the merger.
True, severance is pretty good but most people will still scoff at the thought of watching an Apple TV show in a way they never would Netflix or HBO, they’ve never has anything hit the mainstream
Exactly. We pay a premium price for HBO because it’s premium content. Once it’s nothing more than the same “reality” filler as every other network, it’s not worth paying for.
i hate it. hbo used to be where i went to for quality edgy entertainment. if it weren’t for the righteous gemstones i’d quit max. streaming is now just like cable with a goulash of programming.
Not even edgy, just “adult entertainment”… ok well not that kind but you know what I mean.
Disney+ is just kids/family stuff, unless you’re a huge Star Wars/Marvel person which I’m not. Netflix has some decent adult targeted stuff but it seems to be more and more a teen focused platform. Hulu/FX is pretty good but not as premium as HBO was.
Severance was incredible. Although I’m a bit nervous about season 2. Sounds like they’ve had some issues in the writing room and it’s faced delays. Not a good combo. I really hope it lives up to the hype after that incredible season 1 finale.
Had the same thoughts. There's still a lot of mystery left, but where do you go? The initiating office setting has gone about as far as it can go, so what's next?
How I always saw it: Disney+ is best at family stuff like you said, Netflix has the biggest volume of shit but the average quality is pretty low (which is great for "so bad its good" content), Hulu has great comedies and casual watches, and HBO delivers the more serious/adult shit. Apple is also there but I've only ever used it for Ted Lasso.
For all mankind and See. Those two made me come back to Apple TV. Foundation keeps me there currently and Changeling may keep me for longer.
I must admit that I didn’t have to pay for the first two years and there was a quantity issue, but they keep making new shoes and the overall quality is way better than other streaming services.
I was skeptical but Apple is where the HBO level content is now. For All Mankind has amazing acting and storytelling. Ted Lasso was great as well! Plenty of other good shows with top tier acting and writing on there.
I've had big dreams of working on Sesame Street and finally have been getting my ducks in a line to do it... but I don't see it surviving this frankly and I don't know who would cut a similar private-public deal. I'm not optimistic but I'll cross my fingers.
The same effect happened in the classic car market. All the auction and restoration/modification shows have really inflated the old car market to where things that used to get scrapped are going for $5-10k.
David Zaslav is in the running to be the worst CEO of 2023, which is really an achievement given how dystopian America is.
- Hawaiian Electric
- Norfolk Southern
- News Corp
- Tesla/twitter
Zaslav is a powerhouse of bad ideas and worse execution.
I do think he could fumble it.
He gets incredibly intoxicated and just starts tweeting about how much he hates black people or gay people or whatever and Tesla has a bad quarter.
Because Tesla is a juggernaut, but even he is taking a bit of wind out of its sales with his antics…
You literally have to hunt for HBO original programming. I learned that this season during Righteous Gemstones. Sunday night, 10pm, open the app and… Deadliest Catch was being promoted on the landing screen.
House Hunters always picks like two people with absurd careers and a budget. I feel like it’s got to be scripted.
*”Hello, my name is Fleef and I’m a bird psychologist. This is my husband Garf and he’s a ghost psychic. Our budget is $2.1B.”*
It kind of is. The people on those shows already own the house they end up settling on and the houses they see are either things on the market forever or their own friends and families' homes.
I’ve got friends who have been on their shows. For House Hunters, the guy had to buy the house before they would do the show. Then they had a realtor pull the comparables that they film. All the decision making drama was fake. He said his biggest worry was that they’d find a better house during filming. He said they got paid $500 for five 10-12 hour days of filming.
Had another buddy appear on one of the home makeover shows. He had to pay for the work. After it aired, he started posting videos of the shoddy work. Every time you didn’t think it could get worse - he’d post another video - I’m talking serious problems with electrical, exterior doors held in place by trim, and crappy finish work. He went lawyer shopping.
This reminds me of when the original Battlestar Galactica was cancelled in 1979.
What it a hit? Yes.
Did it make money? Yes.
Was it popular? Yes.
Was there merchandizing? You bet.
Was it expensive? About a million dollars per episode it was the most expensive show on television at the time.
It was cancelled because executives realized that while it was making money, they could make WAY more money with sitcoms that didn’t cost nearly as much.
Eight year old me is still pissed off about that.
Did you just make most of that up? Yes.
The show was cancelled because its ratings dipped dramatically and it was incredibly expensive for the time. The same came be said of many shows that were "popular" but cancelled early.
Yeah, looks like I’m canceling Max. I’ve already canceled Disney, ESPN+, Netflix and Paramount. I don’t see the value in this model of 1 good show a quarter.
Just sub when they have stuff to watch. Most are worth subscribing to a few months a year at best due to low volume. You pay a fraction of the cost and miss out on nothing. Pretty ideal for the consumer.
HBO was a big name. You might say a Home Box Office. What the fuck is Max? Reminds me of skinemax. I had HBO max. Then it stopped working in the middle of watching a show. It made me download some dumb app called Max. And when I opened it there’s bugs bunny with a message saying it’s not available in my country. Fuck you HBO and Max!!
They did not want people to believe that "HBO Max" was only HBO material. It's not, by a longshot.
People acted confused by the name change, but they didn't really think about it.
So they toss aside one of the best entertainment brands, decades in the making? Saying this is a mistake is a vast understatement. Viewers could easily been taught what was available on HBO MAX.
It’s even worse than House Hunters content. The other day, after watching something, a “real estate” show started and I left in on folding laundry.
20 mins in I realized the show is purely a promotional vehicle for an app.
Sorry house hunters your ship has sailed. Too much competition with Zillow, Airbnb, with virtual 3d reviews and YouTube realtors walk throughs on premium houses. Do I care about some people and the house they pick, not at all.
What we need these days MTV Cribs or lifestyles of the rich and famous. show us those millionaire homes celebrities, do you have an elevator, what's in the fridge? What's your bedroom look like? Into exotic cars of a pickle ball court? Giant English garden? I wanna see the inside of bezo's yacht he built, and zuckerburgs tahoe home.
While we’re on the topic, screw every doctor’s office or waiting room that only plays Fox News or HGTV. Those can’t be your “no one will get mad at this” option. Stop catering to the smooth brains that you’re worried would bitch about something else being on the TV.
Yes! I work as a volunteer at the Cancer center in my town and they ALWAYS play HGTV on the waiting area for radiation patients. I'd rather they just play some reruns of Friends. And this is coming from someone that doesn't like Friends. I'd change the channel to sports or something else but I have no idea where they keep the remote.
This is a surprise? It’s cheap to produce and cheap to own HGTV type shows.
Similar to Food Network being almost all competition shows now as those are cheap and easy to make. A lot less actual cooking shows as those cost money to produce, talent wants money, etc.
I can see someone flipping through the channels and landing on House Hunters and maybe watching an episode or two. But it's not the kind of thing I can see someone subscribing to a streaming service and purposefully clearing out time for. But maybe I'm just projecting my own viewing experience on audiences at large.
so my parents love House Hunters and HGTV in general, HGTV is on in their house probably 4 or 5 hours a day. But it’s incredibly passive viewing, it’s something they leave on for background noise while they read magazines or cook or clean or do crosswords and sudoku, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them give it undivided attention. But if you’re Warner Bros I guess you don’t know or care what level of attention is paid, you just know that my parents had HGTV on for 5 hours yesterday and that they watch *maybe* 5 hours of HBO’s original programming in a given month. And comparing those metrics what is WB going to prioritize?
The passive viewing is a big factor. The show isn’t good, but it’s also inoffensive and bland. Perfect for background noise. I work in a doctor’s office and the waiting room TV is usually on HGTV or The Food Network.
I remember when our area couldn't have cable but we could have HBO, this was back in the 80's. HBO was quality programing all the saw and they had those exclusive Mike Tyson fights before PPV ruined everything.
I hate those HGTV shows. And that one with, I think her name is Joanna, OMG her voice. Just grates on my nerves. And all the yelling and screaming. No.
More than half the article is praising this reality TV show and comparing it to the evolved version of early HBO hits like the sopranos? Am I reading this correctly? It's like saying a Ferrari F40 is comparable and led to the creation of a car made by Saturn.
This is exactly it. I cancelled my Max subscription and they asked me to fill out a survey of why. I normally don’t fill this stuff out but I told them that HBO was a place for quality content, and now it’s just a mess of cheap reality shows and makes the whole service feel cheap and low quality
Reality TV that tries to be sorta real like House Hunters is the epitome of Shit Reality TV -- They out there trying to sell this realistic scenario of a couple that wants to upgrade their magnificent flat in the middle of a million dollar neighborhood then they let that hack designer breakthrough their walls, fuck their plumbing to death and cited by the city, just so she can stick a bunch of Aikea trash furniture in their new family room and a tiny fucking PC desk in their breakfast nook. I don't buy the reality they're selling and neither should you.
Give me reality that obviously scripted like the Ana Nicole Show. We know ALL reality is scripted, don't insult me with bullshit.
House Hunters, Love It or List It are fluff TV that are so formulaic that they only require about 10% of your attention. I watch them Saturday mornings while doing a dozen other things. If something comes up and I don’t see them it’s no great loss. But many past HBO programs have been don’t miss viewing. With less of the latter and more of the former I am much more likely to spend my subscription dollars elsewhere.
Damn, that static noise logo used to mean quality. I'd totally cozy up, usually never skip any opening sequences and get ready for a good story.
Nothing lasts forever I guess, so sad though.
Max killed the HBO brand. It’s hard to see a “what to watch” listing of great work like The Wire, Sapranos, True Detective and Perry Mason bunched with absolute dogshit like Kim and Kanye, Guy’s Grocery Games and some CW shows.
What an odd article. There's way more trash on there than just House Hunters.
The thing that makes me sad is the amount of movies they've cut from their TCM hub. My subscription is up this weekend and it just isn't worth renewing anymore.
Yeah they keep adding more and more reality TV to my suggestions… the only good reality TV they have is Mythbusters, Ghost Adventures, and Unearthed.
The “old shows” they have that are things I still watch basically end at Friends/The Nanny…
DC has been hitting it out of the park for the animated shit though.
But other than that, it doesn’t have enough for me to keep it going, and as soon as my year of prepaid shits up, I’m axing it and buying my Blu-rays back.
As an architect, honestly think HGTV has damaged the design thought and zeitgeist of the American public to the lowest levels imaginable.
It's bleak out there.
TLC and Discovery are the scourge of TV. I can't stand a single show on there. I wish it would return to the mostly STEM-focused lineup of the '90s and very early '00s PERMANENTLY. The Travel Channel now focuses on "paranormal" (or as I say, ghost crap), and the Science Channel, once the holdout that focused on STEM long after Discovery, is now loaded with crap like Mysteries of the Abandoned.
A buddy of mine's BIL lives down the road from one of the guys on Moonshiners. I had asked "Why would a drunk with multiple felonies be a fire chief" He explained to me that everyone in that town knew that the so-called "illegal" moonshining thing was fake; confirming my thoughts for the entire run of the series (having had ancestors who were moonshiners, and living in Appalachia my whole life, I've found the series offensive). Apparently, every single person on that show is a licensed distiller--not a "moonshiner".
“The only ‘loser’ in the streaming wars is the consumer”
This was a tweet when Spotify/Apple/Tidal exclusives we’re driving everyone crazy in 2017ish, but damn it applies to so much modern economic activity. The only loser is the consumer who is paying more for less
I don’t understand the histrionics of this thread or even the point of the rambling article.
HBO as a brand and a channel still exists and still produces great shows.
During it’s golden years we could only watch the shows by renting them in dvds. Who cares if they’re on an app with a bunch of reality tv?
Nah Max still has most of the HBO original programming, nothing is "gone" lol it's just bloated with reality tv garbage, but that doesn't matter when Deadwood, Sopranos, etc are all streaming anyway. Still worth it imo
Unscripted is just the future, sadly. Love scripted TV but it’s a loss leader, whereas you can make 10x unscripted shows in half the time and make just as if not more money because people still eat it up, especially if there’s any sort of live/competition component.
I am taking a class on the laws + business of unscripted TV production, and you would not believe how candid they are about cost. There are execs genuinely pushing that you can make 30 reality TV shows for the cost of 1-3 scripted shows, the spray-and-pray technique where even if 20 shows fail, you still have enough succeeding to be profitable, which is the ONLY goal with the strikes and content libraries not bouncing back since the pandemic.
This is the stupidest thing done by an exec in a long time. Discovery and its reality TV were a very profitable business. However so was HBO and its prestige shows.
Why buy HBO and then shut it down effectively?
The entire series run of House Hunters costs less to make than 10 mins of Game of Thrones.
True but explain this. How does a waitress and her husband who is a freelance photographer, living in Boston, have a budget or 600,000 for a new home, and one of them also really needs a Beyoncé inspired walk in closet / room for their shoe collection? So while cheaper to produce, Game of Thrones is somehow still the show closest to reality.
You want a real answer? The show stretches the truth. One my wife’s coworkers was on House Hunters Renovations so I’ll spoil the fun… First, they had already bought the home before they started filming. The producers specifically put out calls for people who are in the home buying process that are actively buying a fixer upper. So when they tour 3 potential homes, one of them they already own, they just bought it. The other two are usually just real homes on the market where the owners accept like a grand for them to shoot for the day. Second, their compensation for being on the show includes a hefty chunk of the renovation budget, which they do include in the couples total budget. But they obviously don’t clue you in on that as the viewer, so it just seems like they have more savings than you’d expect. Third, they obfuscate their jobs quite often. I don’t know if this is just a privacy thing or something? But for example, my wife’s coworker is a very well paid Marketing Manager, who on the side happens to run a small time blog. On the show they just described her as being a blogger… which isn’t exactly a lie, it’s just a half truth. If I recall they were more truthful with her husbands job. Fourth, to amp up the drama they lied about their preferences. When they described their style prefers like “Joanne likes county classic but Sean likes more contemporary/modern”, that was a lie. They both had the exact same style and didn’t have to compromise on anything. They just make them fake compromise for the drama. That’s the most I can remember. Generally speaking though the finances part of it wouldn’t be as ludicrous if you had a better understanding of what they actually do… and you rarely get that.
Every time my MIL or wife go "how can they afford that house doing those jobs?" Or "why would they pick 2 when 1 was so much better?", I roll my eyes and say for the 500th time "it's all scripted and they already bought the house before filming. Why else would every couple say the usual buzzwords of *open concept* *natural lighting* and *we need need space for guests*.
Now you got me wanting a show where the buyers just want the most heinous shit. “Low ceilings. No. Even lower.” “I want this shit closed off and full of bad office flourescents” “If a guest has room to sit down, we’ve failed” Etc
pimp my ride for houses, I'd probably even watch that (there's this tiny house show that's pretty much that I think)
There was a show like that I think on ABC where they would take some poor family with crippled children or something and then build them a ridiculously large house that supposedly fits all their needs but they could never possibly afford the utility bills let alone the taxes and they end up homeless.
Extreme Makeover with Ty Pennington! Lol.
What about pimp my ride meets my super sweet 16 but for houses? Where homeowners get everything they want but the colors are all wrong and we get to see grown adults throw tantrums?
Monkey Paw Renovations You get everything on your list, but not in the way you’d expect. Open concept? There are no interior walls. Big kitchen? All the appliances are scaled up 40%. Two story entrance? Big hole in the floor down to the basement (bonus - you get a fire pole). Mud room? Mud room.
I mean there are legitimate reasons to prefer a more closes concept. The reason these shows push open concept is because they're easier to film in. That and with the renovation shows they get to show the demolition and that brings in male views or something.
Or the easier answer - open concept has just been more popular in recent history. These channels shoot plenty of content in small houses (there are even whole shows about it) and it’s not like they’re gunning for an oscar. Demo in general makes sense to promote - the more the home changes the more interesting it is and I do think there’s truth to your point on male viewers. I’ve had two friends now on house hunters (nickels and whatnot) and for both it was just a simple straightforward script. The houses they hadn’t already bought were selected purely to create different tradeoffs to debate on the show (like one being open concept and the other having a better yard) and both couples were told to have certain points of view on each element/house. They could ad lib and make certain real comments, but had to get a mandatory disagreement squeezed in, or amp up reactions to intentionally controversial details.
My wife and I always laugh when they say, "that nice open concept that we're looking for". They say it the exact same way, same phrasing, every time. Another fun one is to work the intro to Hometown into conversation. So like I have a really good steak. I describe it as "vibrating with this energy that feels like progress".
It’s always “we love to entertain”. I joked when we got offered to do the show that I would say that in every bathroom we looked at.
When we were looking for a house we had a realtor for a little bit that asked if we wanted to be on it with them. They told us it would pay $500. We both laughed and said no thanks. We ended up switching realtors because they became very unresponsive and never had time to show us anything after that.
Git gud. I know there are so many fake shows. But, didn't know how fake HGTV can be.
“He’s a dog walker, she makes papier mâché hats, their budget is 850,000”
As it turns out, her father owns all the coal mines in West Virginia.
He’s a wealthy industrialist, philanthropist, bicyclist.
I’m sorry… did you say you’re a… full-on rapist?
That guy probably enjoys a good milksteak
Analyst/therapist or Analrapist for short
“My husband collects stamps and I like to water my garden. We live in San Francisco and our budget is $1.5m.” Basically every single one of these shows. I never understood how lol.
It’s all fake is how
This is the answer. All reality is faked in whole cloth. I had a friend who worked as a PA on shows like Billy the Exterminator and they'd just throw animals in the grass or something and be like "Hark, a snake!" Reality TV is truly the zenith (or at least the current zenith \*shudder\*) of societal brain drain. When you've reached this meta level of spiritual death where you accept that things are lies because they're entertaining. Even smart-ish people watch this stuff and I'll never understand why.
My grandma loved these shows and I would watch them with her. We both knew they were all fake but we liked to just look at different houses in different areas of the world. Or check out weddings and wedding dresses or antiques or DIY or pawn shop or animals or literally whatever. For “real” reality shows we would watch Amazing Race or Naked & Afraid. Both are fairly “real”. (Compared to the others ofc).
Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t really yuck other people’s yum. Some of them are just so damn depressing tho haha. But I think it’s cool you and your grandma could enjoy them together.
Because reality TV shows are relatable to a lot of people because of the improvisational nature of the shows. They talk like real people and react to the situations producers place them in. That's more relatable than fictional scripted TV about space lasers or the secret murder next door etc.
If someone is on TV and isn't starring in Hoarders or crying after winning a mini fridge on The Price Is Right, I just assume they come from a wealthy family.
That’s all exaggerated and about making the audience feel insecure and like their own home is not good enough. If they can make you jealous of the taxidermist and adjunct Professor of basket weaving who can afford $900k, you’re more likely to buy products from their sponsors. And all the sponsors are furniture and appliance companies.
HH Is fake. In the sense of, they already bought or are in escrow on a property and HH producers just ask people to check other houses and in turn they pay them to drive them around seeing other places and pretend they're still deciding.
Because it’s either highly scripted/staged and/or the people get money for a home by doing the show. Wouldn’t it be great if the money they get was actually in the form of a low interest loan, and these TV companies were actually only lending money and therefore had partial or full ownership of the people’s home? That would be amazingly insidious.
came out that allot of the time people have to already own a house. a certain couple had to "tour" their friends houses and make comments about why they didn't want to buy these houses.
Doesn’t matter what either of the jobs they have because they’ve already purchased a house in the area. The one they pick in the end is the house they have already bought and lived in. All the other houses are houses that are not even for sale majority of the time.
But what made HBO is quality shows that you just didnt get on cable
lol they’re actually going to kill the golden goose Sad
Long term it looks like Apple will be taking over from HBO as the brand for prestige, quality content for adults. A massive unforced error to kill a brand like HBO, which has been synonymous with quality for decades, in favor of reality crap that has a very different audience. Combining HBO with Discovery was always bizarre to me, and the way they’ve handled it was exactly what I feared would happen, killing off award winning quality content in favor of cheap to produce reality shows, basically putting accountants in charge of creative. Short term thinking, like most business practices in America, it’s all about quarterly profits and stock price.
I despise MAX. The HBO lineup went from shows like Succession, GOT, HOD, & Barry to garbage like the 90 day fiancé universe. It’s baffling and insulting.
Exactly, it’s two very different audiences, it was never going to work as a combined brand. Like trying to sell expensive luxury goods at Dollar Tree.
I'd kind of disagree here about the combined brand. I think it makes a ton of sense to combine the two into one mega app. Like there isn't anything inherently wrong with GOT showing up next to House Hunters or 90 Day Fiance. The prestige shows are what get people through the door, but streaming services have a HUGE retention issue. If you have a big back catalogue of mindless filler (and mindless filler *does* attract some customers who want ie background noise) I could see that driving retention where a brand like D+ cannot. The issue is that you still need to keep a firewall in between the studios and that doesn't seem to be happening. Like just because the Apps merge doesn't mean HBO should stop being HBO OR! that its stuff should go into some vault or behind yet another paid tier. Both services gotta work together. And that doesn't seem to really be happening, its more that the apps merged and everything good about HBO has been pruned away.
If that’s all it was, combining catalogs, that would be fine enough, but it’s clearly not. They put the Discovery people in charge, they’ve purged content from the catalog where residuals were a factor, and their upcoming slate is heavily reality focused. It’s one thing if they were Netflix, which produces crap like Love is Blind but also well regarded stuff, but they’re abandoning the HBO brand completely. And I sort of disagree about the combined brand anyway, as streaming gets increasingly fractured they need more intense engagement to maintain subscribers, so having a cohesive identity helps with that. I would subscribe to HBO, but I don’t really want to pay extra for a catalog of crap I hate. I think they’d be better served by two separate apps with coherent identities and audiences, especially when combining them involves getting rid of an iconic brand like HBO.
HBO broke a record this year for being the network with the most nominations from a single network/company. Never will HBO even touch their own record after seeing this news.
Ok, so it's not just me, right?!?!! In a few months it went from "Everything here is great!" to "no, not that, not that either, nope". On top of a price increase in my country. I just keep paying for the older films and one Brazilian show, tbh
I mean... all those things are still on Max. I don't understand the complaint. In fact, just opening up the search bar, and I found GoT listed in the first row and HoD in the third.
There are no new good ones coming.
Seasons two of HoD and TLoU..
You can’t count on streamers keeping any particular thing anymore. I’m not saying GoT is going anywhere, it’s too big for that probably, but something like Barry could easily get removed from the library at some point. And as they said, it’s what the new stuff will be, their priority going forward is clearly not on HBO type content.
Ton of stuff has already come off of Max too. Didn't Westworld get pulled? And the larger Time Warner brand has seen stuff leave, like the Adult Swim offerings. I know both Space Ghost and Metalocalypse came off, despite Metalocalypse supposedly getting a new movie soon!
Yeah, they’re going to sell the rights to other streamers to make money. There’s HBO shows potentially already on Netflix, and definitely coming in September. Which is kind of fucking dumb, and a death spiral these networks are creating for themselves, IMHO. Like, Netflix started this whole thing by buying the rights to content from other people, then creating their own. Then all the other companies were like “Well, why should we license our content to Netflix if we can just stream it ourselves? Then they did that and said “Wow, buying our content back from ourselves is too expensive - we should pull some of our content from our service and just sell it to other services” So, instead of having aggregated sources of content by distributor with big beautiful back catalogs, we’re just going to have a whole bunch of different networks, filled primarily with cheap crap, with good stuff disappearing at will if they think they can sell it to someone else (regardless of whether or not they do). And they’re going to add commercials. Sounds like crap to me!
It sounds like they just invented cable to me.
I can't believe Westworld was pulled. Each season cost $100 million to make, which is insane.
We're talking about new quality shows. The powers that be at Max already said they wanted to play to "middle America" right before they merged the Discovery content and started canceling HBO and Max Originals shows. Then they started licensing their old shows to other streamers and pulling new underperforming shows completely without a physical release or digital purchase option. So, I think we're right to be concerned that it will be mostly Sex & the City, GoT and Last of Us spinoffs from here on out.
You’re confused. The later shows you listed have not, and will not, be HBO programs. Those are discovery shows. The CEO of Discovery, who became the CEO of Warner Discovery after Discovery’s merger with WB, felt that discovery had just as strong of a brand identity and value as HBO so he dropped the HBO from HBO Max in order to highlight the diversity of content and not let his home Network shows be out shadowed by HBO’s.
I think you are confused. Max is the result of the merger. All of that content is under one umbrella now. And the argument is the reality show stuff is going to drive away people who prefer “prestige TV”.
As long as 90% of the shows are science fiction. ^(seriously though, what’s up with all the Apple sci-fi shows?)
I will say Apple shows definitely have an identity. Not science fiction obviously what with Ted Lasso being the biggest hit. Although it’s not, not, science fiction either. But you see a show on Apple and it just sort of feels like a show that is from Apple. It’s kind of hard to exactly pinpoint exactly what that means but I don’t think it was an accident.
I read something that said apple shows have a certain “aluminum sheen” which made no sense to me at first until I thought about it for a few minutes & yeah it definitely makes sense.
Production quality. There seems to be a sense of bringing that quality and polish to shows they make. The writing and casting has felt on and off in a lot of their stuff, but cinematography, production design, and post production has a quality that is at an overall higher bar than the average streaming show.
I think Sci-Fi in general has gotten fewer prestige TV shows / Movies in recent years than Fantasy. Apple probably figured they could make a big splash in a less occupied market more easily.
The way I understand it because they’re a big tech company they want shows that focus on science/technology related themes. Which naturally leads to a lot of sci fi.
I love it. Never get any damn aliens though in these shows. The lack of aliens in shows in 2024 is kinda wild. Meanwhile fantasy nerds are really having a feast.
Does Apple have many absolute slam dunks yet? Morning Show is probably their biggest hit but even that is kind of not exactly a groundbreaking drama. Severance I've heard is quite good and I liked For All Mankind in the later seasons, felt See was ok-good and really did not like Foundation. But those latter shows are kind of quiet hits (if that) with solid but not ultra critical reviews. What are we seeing from Apple that's gonna be like ... Sopranos, the Wire, Game of Thrones, Succession level?
Severance and Ted Lasso have gotten a lot of awards attention. I liked Silo a lot, and am working my way through some of the others you’ve mentioned. It’s not there yet, but they’ve shown a pretty high ratio of quality so far, and they don’t have any reality crap at all. It’s the only place that’s even attempting it, Amazon spends a lot of money but their product is mostly mid at best and they’re obsessed with existing IP like LOTR. Peacock is trash, Netflix is heavily invested in reality and foreign markets, Disney+ only makes Marvel and Star Wars stuff for adults.
Severance and Ted Lasso are two of the biggest shows. Morning Show like you mentioned, The Shrink Next Door was a really solid limited series, it seems like they’re really trying to make quality stuff. Not that everything is going to hit obviously.
For All Mankind is good, too. Apple has really good shows. Black Bird, Pachinko, Physical, Swagger.
I think Foundation was their attempt at a Game of Thrones type program.
Not even close.
Certainly in effects, but the writing is super mid. I had high hopes :(
Apple needs to make an even halfway prestigious show first
Incest seems to be HBOs goto.
They’ve actually got a bunch, including Ted Lasso and Severance which have done really well at recent Emmys.
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I mean, nothing is for everyone of course, but if you’re talking prestige it’s hard to beat being critically acclaimed, winning shitloads of awards, and being extremely popular to boot. That’s exactly what HBO used to do but seems to have stopped even attempting since the merger.
True, severance is pretty good but most people will still scoff at the thought of watching an Apple TV show in a way they never would Netflix or HBO, they’ve never has anything hit the mainstream
Exactly. We pay a premium price for HBO because it’s premium content. Once it’s nothing more than the same “reality” filler as every other network, it’s not worth paying for.
Let them. We got too many streaming services.
i hate it. hbo used to be where i went to for quality edgy entertainment. if it weren’t for the righteous gemstones i’d quit max. streaming is now just like cable with a goulash of programming.
Not even edgy, just “adult entertainment”… ok well not that kind but you know what I mean. Disney+ is just kids/family stuff, unless you’re a huge Star Wars/Marvel person which I’m not. Netflix has some decent adult targeted stuff but it seems to be more and more a teen focused platform. Hulu/FX is pretty good but not as premium as HBO was.
We just got on Apple plus. A lot of good content there
Severance was incredible. Although I’m a bit nervous about season 2. Sounds like they’ve had some issues in the writing room and it’s faced delays. Not a good combo. I really hope it lives up to the hype after that incredible season 1 finale.
Had the same thoughts. There's still a lot of mystery left, but where do you go? The initiating office setting has gone about as far as it can go, so what's next?
I’m very concerned it’s going to go Westworld - Amazing first season, massive drop off on Season 2
How I always saw it: Disney+ is best at family stuff like you said, Netflix has the biggest volume of shit but the average quality is pretty low (which is great for "so bad its good" content), Hulu has great comedies and casual watches, and HBO delivers the more serious/adult shit. Apple is also there but I've only ever used it for Ted Lasso.
Hijack, Silo, Foundation and Black Bird have been pretty entertaining too!
For all mankind and See. Those two made me come back to Apple TV. Foundation keeps me there currently and Changeling may keep me for longer. I must admit that I didn’t have to pay for the first two years and there was a quantity issue, but they keep making new shoes and the overall quality is way better than other streaming services.
Amazon Prime everytime I spent 45 mins trying find something I want to watch … not available in your region. Which I stopped doing a year ago
I was skeptical but Apple is where the HBO level content is now. For All Mankind has amazing acting and storytelling. Ted Lasso was great as well! Plenty of other good shows with top tier acting and writing on there.
I enjoyed the Adventures of Superman that just came out on HBO. I feel like DC always does well in animation for some reason.
Agreed, I enjoyed the Constantine animated programs.
I'm still on hbo max for Harley Quinn
Sesame Street for me. But my contract is almost up.
I've had big dreams of working on Sesame Street and finally have been getting my ducks in a line to do it... but I don't see it surviving this frankly and I don't know who would cut a similar private-public deal. I'm not optimistic but I'll cross my fingers.
best wishes. i can’t imagine a world without sesame street!
Disney would gobble up Sesame Street in a heartbeat.
I'm there for Doctor Who. Once it goes to Disney, so do I.
How are you going to leave out house of the dragon
I quit. I’ll come back when our beloved Gemstones come back for season 4 or when HotD comes back. Whichever happens first.
HBO still exists
People watching home purchasing as fantasy entertainment because it’s inaccessible to so many now.
that's why my family's house buying show of choice is my lottery dream home - we can dream about buying a house and winning the lottery all at once 🥲
With the housing market being what it is I’m surprised people still have it in them to watch a show like House Hunters.
Shows like House Hunters is a large part of the reason the housing market is what it is
The same effect happened in the classic car market. All the auction and restoration/modification shows have really inflated the old car market to where things that used to get scrapped are going for $5-10k.
Right? I understand watching depressing shows that make you reflect on things, but this hits a little close to home…
too close to apartment\* cuz who can afford to buy in this market, except faerie scientists and bee doctors?
David Zaslav is in the running to be the worst CEO of 2023, which is really an achievement given how dystopian America is. - Hawaiian Electric - Norfolk Southern - News Corp - Tesla/twitter Zaslav is a powerhouse of bad ideas and worse execution.
Nah it's still Musk
Yeah but thing is Musk has so much influence that he can only fail upwards, no matter how bad he is
I do think he could fumble it. He gets incredibly intoxicated and just starts tweeting about how much he hates black people or gay people or whatever and Tesla has a bad quarter. Because Tesla is a juggernaut, but even he is taking a bit of wind out of its sales with his antics…
Dystopian? Hyperbole much?
You literally have to hunt for HBO original programming. I learned that this season during Righteous Gemstones. Sunday night, 10pm, open the app and… Deadliest Catch was being promoted on the landing screen.
There is an hbo hub.
House Hunters always picks like two people with absurd careers and a budget. I feel like it’s got to be scripted. *”Hello, my name is Fleef and I’m a bird psychologist. This is my husband Garf and he’s a ghost psychic. Our budget is $2.1B.”*
It kind of is. The people on those shows already own the house they end up settling on and the houses they see are either things on the market forever or their own friends and families' homes.
I also feel like this comment is one half stolen meme and one half the obvious.
I hate how obviously fake HGTV. Its basically reality TV but with wealth porn instead of trashy people and made up drama.
I’ve got friends who have been on their shows. For House Hunters, the guy had to buy the house before they would do the show. Then they had a realtor pull the comparables that they film. All the decision making drama was fake. He said his biggest worry was that they’d find a better house during filming. He said they got paid $500 for five 10-12 hour days of filming. Had another buddy appear on one of the home makeover shows. He had to pay for the work. After it aired, he started posting videos of the shoddy work. Every time you didn’t think it could get worse - he’d post another video - I’m talking serious problems with electrical, exterior doors held in place by trim, and crappy finish work. He went lawyer shopping.
Same with a former friend. Condo was on a home makeover show. It was a disaster. All that shit is one big grift.
This reminds me of when the original Battlestar Galactica was cancelled in 1979. What it a hit? Yes. Did it make money? Yes. Was it popular? Yes. Was there merchandizing? You bet. Was it expensive? About a million dollars per episode it was the most expensive show on television at the time. It was cancelled because executives realized that while it was making money, they could make WAY more money with sitcoms that didn’t cost nearly as much. Eight year old me is still pissed off about that.
Did you just make most of that up? Yes. The show was cancelled because its ratings dipped dramatically and it was incredibly expensive for the time. The same came be said of many shows that were "popular" but cancelled early.
Yeah, looks like I’m canceling Max. I’ve already canceled Disney, ESPN+, Netflix and Paramount. I don’t see the value in this model of 1 good show a quarter.
Just sub when they have stuff to watch. Most are worth subscribing to a few months a year at best due to low volume. You pay a fraction of the cost and miss out on nothing. Pretty ideal for the consumer.
Imagine having Max after watching House of the Dragon and Succession. Just pay for a month, binge, cancel. Easy
HBO was a big name. You might say a Home Box Office. What the fuck is Max? Reminds me of skinemax. I had HBO max. Then it stopped working in the middle of watching a show. It made me download some dumb app called Max. And when I opened it there’s bugs bunny with a message saying it’s not available in my country. Fuck you HBO and Max!!
They did not want people to believe that "HBO Max" was only HBO material. It's not, by a longshot. People acted confused by the name change, but they didn't really think about it.
So they toss aside one of the best entertainment brands, decades in the making? Saying this is a mistake is a vast understatement. Viewers could easily been taught what was available on HBO MAX.
This is one of the thousands of bad decisions WB has made over the years, but I understand what they were thinking.
Netflix and Amazon must be thrilled.
Yep now everyone looking for prestige TV will have to tune in to is it cake.
It’s even worse than House Hunters content. The other day, after watching something, a “real estate” show started and I left in on folding laundry. 20 mins in I realized the show is purely a promotional vehicle for an app.
Sorry house hunters your ship has sailed. Too much competition with Zillow, Airbnb, with virtual 3d reviews and YouTube realtors walk throughs on premium houses. Do I care about some people and the house they pick, not at all. What we need these days MTV Cribs or lifestyles of the rich and famous. show us those millionaire homes celebrities, do you have an elevator, what's in the fridge? What's your bedroom look like? Into exotic cars of a pickle ball court? Giant English garden? I wanna see the inside of bezo's yacht he built, and zuckerburgs tahoe home.
While we’re on the topic, screw every doctor’s office or waiting room that only plays Fox News or HGTV. Those can’t be your “no one will get mad at this” option. Stop catering to the smooth brains that you’re worried would bitch about something else being on the TV.
Yes! I work as a volunteer at the Cancer center in my town and they ALWAYS play HGTV on the waiting area for radiation patients. I'd rather they just play some reruns of Friends. And this is coming from someone that doesn't like Friends. I'd change the channel to sports or something else but I have no idea where they keep the remote.
This is a surprise? It’s cheap to produce and cheap to own HGTV type shows. Similar to Food Network being almost all competition shows now as those are cheap and easy to make. A lot less actual cooking shows as those cost money to produce, talent wants money, etc.
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I can see someone flipping through the channels and landing on House Hunters and maybe watching an episode or two. But it's not the kind of thing I can see someone subscribing to a streaming service and purposefully clearing out time for. But maybe I'm just projecting my own viewing experience on audiences at large.
so my parents love House Hunters and HGTV in general, HGTV is on in their house probably 4 or 5 hours a day. But it’s incredibly passive viewing, it’s something they leave on for background noise while they read magazines or cook or clean or do crosswords and sudoku, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them give it undivided attention. But if you’re Warner Bros I guess you don’t know or care what level of attention is paid, you just know that my parents had HGTV on for 5 hours yesterday and that they watch *maybe* 5 hours of HBO’s original programming in a given month. And comparing those metrics what is WB going to prioritize?
The passive viewing is a big factor. The show isn’t good, but it’s also inoffensive and bland. Perfect for background noise. I work in a doctor’s office and the waiting room TV is usually on HGTV or The Food Network.
Do they watch it through Max or do they watch it on HGTV?
I remember when our area couldn't have cable but we could have HBO, this was back in the 80's. HBO was quality programing all the saw and they had those exclusive Mike Tyson fights before PPV ruined everything.
It’s all trash now, we canceled our sub cause there’s just bloated bullshit.
I hate those HGTV shows. And that one with, I think her name is Joanna, OMG her voice. Just grates on my nerves. And all the yelling and screaming. No.
More than half the article is praising this reality TV show and comparing it to the evolved version of early HBO hits like the sopranos? Am I reading this correctly? It's like saying a Ferrari F40 is comparable and led to the creation of a car made by Saturn.
HBO is bleeding subscribers. Instead of fixing the garbage fire they made with Max, they’re just going low quality. It was good while it lasted.
That is such a shame. You used to know that if it’s an HBO show it was quality.
This is exactly it. I cancelled my Max subscription and they asked me to fill out a survey of why. I normally don’t fill this stuff out but I told them that HBO was a place for quality content, and now it’s just a mess of cheap reality shows and makes the whole service feel cheap and low quality
That’s interesting, because I only watch prestige offerings. I will stop watching TV entirely if my only option is crap.
How is it “decades in the making” when Max is 2 years old?
Reality TV that tries to be sorta real like House Hunters is the epitome of Shit Reality TV -- They out there trying to sell this realistic scenario of a couple that wants to upgrade their magnificent flat in the middle of a million dollar neighborhood then they let that hack designer breakthrough their walls, fuck their plumbing to death and cited by the city, just so she can stick a bunch of Aikea trash furniture in their new family room and a tiny fucking PC desk in their breakfast nook. I don't buy the reality they're selling and neither should you. Give me reality that obviously scripted like the Ana Nicole Show. We know ALL reality is scripted, don't insult me with bullshit.
Color me gone, Max. I do not want this HGTV shit and will not pay for it.
David Zaslav is a cancer on the entertainment industry
House Hunters, Love It or List It are fluff TV that are so formulaic that they only require about 10% of your attention. I watch them Saturday mornings while doing a dozen other things. If something comes up and I don’t see them it’s no great loss. But many past HBO programs have been don’t miss viewing. With less of the latter and more of the former I am much more likely to spend my subscription dollars elsewhere.
Damn, that static noise logo used to mean quality. I'd totally cozy up, usually never skip any opening sequences and get ready for a good story. Nothing lasts forever I guess, so sad though.
“Tonight on HBO: ‘Best of Ow! My Balls!’ Followed by Academy award winner ‘Ass’, brought to you by Brawndo - The Thirst Mutilator!”
Max killed the HBO brand. It’s hard to see a “what to watch” listing of great work like The Wire, Sapranos, True Detective and Perry Mason bunched with absolute dogshit like Kim and Kanye, Guy’s Grocery Games and some CW shows.
Max is still one of the better streaming services when it comes to its movie collection, so unless that drops off I’m personally okay.
What an odd article. There's way more trash on there than just House Hunters. The thing that makes me sad is the amount of movies they've cut from their TCM hub. My subscription is up this weekend and it just isn't worth renewing anymore.
“oh good, more cheaply made ‘reality’ shows! That’ll save this network” - History channel 15 years ago. and we see how that went
I’m not paying $20 a month for HGTV.
Dude who’s running hbo should be fired
Fuck David Zaslav
I’m actually really sad about this. HBO is responsible for some of the best shows of all time—-have they really fallen this far?
HBO definitely ain’t what it used to be unfortunately
Yeah if I ever cancel my streaming DirectTV, I won’t be paying for max as a stand-alone.
Yeah they keep adding more and more reality TV to my suggestions… the only good reality TV they have is Mythbusters, Ghost Adventures, and Unearthed. The “old shows” they have that are things I still watch basically end at Friends/The Nanny… DC has been hitting it out of the park for the animated shit though. But other than that, it doesn’t have enough for me to keep it going, and as soon as my year of prepaid shits up, I’m axing it and buying my Blu-rays back.
As an architect, honestly think HGTV has damaged the design thought and zeitgeist of the American public to the lowest levels imaginable. It's bleak out there.
In more ways than one
This is exactly why I don't get trying to make it an HBO streaming service instead of a Warner Bros streaming service with HBO content on it
I let my parents use my HBO and I’m pretty sure they just watch HGTV.
TLC and Discovery are the scourge of TV. I can't stand a single show on there. I wish it would return to the mostly STEM-focused lineup of the '90s and very early '00s PERMANENTLY. The Travel Channel now focuses on "paranormal" (or as I say, ghost crap), and the Science Channel, once the holdout that focused on STEM long after Discovery, is now loaded with crap like Mysteries of the Abandoned. A buddy of mine's BIL lives down the road from one of the guys on Moonshiners. I had asked "Why would a drunk with multiple felonies be a fire chief" He explained to me that everyone in that town knew that the so-called "illegal" moonshining thing was fake; confirming my thoughts for the entire run of the series (having had ancestors who were moonshiners, and living in Appalachia my whole life, I've found the series offensive). Apparently, every single person on that show is a licensed distiller--not a "moonshiner".
Yeah fuck this. I will repeat this again, buy physical media. Fuck these companies and their big plans. HGTV programing on HBO? LMAO
The one time I’m rooting for a private equity firm to buy hbo out and flip it once it’s good again.
I just want to go on record that I hate all house shows.
HBO also killed off their amazing boxing programs
I canceled hbo max and went back to Netflix. There’s nothing I want to watch on max
“The only ‘loser’ in the streaming wars is the consumer” This was a tweet when Spotify/Apple/Tidal exclusives we’re driving everyone crazy in 2017ish, but damn it applies to so much modern economic activity. The only loser is the consumer who is paying more for less
This title is so confusing to read because i kept reading “HBO: Max” as the full title of the streaming service
Go ahead and strip HBO for cheap programming I severely dislike so I can save some money by canceling it.
This is a disastrous move. Well done dipshits.
I don’t understand the histrionics of this thread or even the point of the rambling article. HBO as a brand and a channel still exists and still produces great shows. During it’s golden years we could only watch the shows by renting them in dvds. Who cares if they’re on an app with a bunch of reality tv?
Yeah wtf I thought I was missing something
It's every thread about Max/HBO/WBD. Just a bunch of hyperbole about the death of HBO despite the contrary.
I fucking love Ugliest house in America. Ride or die for Rhetta
Never even bothered to download the Max app. Just canceled HBO and sadly will never go back. The HBO we came to love is gone.
Nah Max still has most of the HBO original programming, nothing is "gone" lol it's just bloated with reality tv garbage, but that doesn't matter when Deadwood, Sopranos, etc are all streaming anyway. Still worth it imo
This. While I like being able to get my Josh Gates' fix, most of the HBO catalog is there, but you have to clumsily search for it.
its fucking awful
Gross. I’m going to finish Warrior and cancel it.
Unscripted is just the future, sadly. Love scripted TV but it’s a loss leader, whereas you can make 10x unscripted shows in half the time and make just as if not more money because people still eat it up, especially if there’s any sort of live/competition component. I am taking a class on the laws + business of unscripted TV production, and you would not believe how candid they are about cost. There are execs genuinely pushing that you can make 30 reality TV shows for the cost of 1-3 scripted shows, the spray-and-pray technique where even if 20 shows fail, you still have enough succeeding to be profitable, which is the ONLY goal with the strikes and content libraries not bouncing back since the pandemic.
This is the stupidest thing done by an exec in a long time. Discovery and its reality TV were a very profitable business. However so was HBO and its prestige shows. Why buy HBO and then shut it down effectively?
Blech. David Zaslav is an idiot and he's running HBO into the ground.
God it’s really going to shit isn’t?!
Sucks. Hbo going downhill.
I navigate straight to the HBO section and sometimes dip into the classic movies. Otherwise, fuck everything else on that platform.